The era when companies would strive to make customers buy their products and services is part of history now. In our current situation, the sale is just the beginning of a potential long term relationship with each customer. The transition from selling being viewed as an “end” to a “beginning” has been tough for organisations everywhere – but overall, this has resulted in a much better experience for customers.
Once organisations began to discover new ways to keep their businesses growing, they also realised that follow-up and after sales service can be incredibly influential methods for ensuring customer loyalty. Keeping track of customers and performing simple courtesies, like sending a “thank you” or a “birthday card” have become a common exercise. These gestures generally strike a chord with customers and give them a feeling of belongingness. It’s therefore no surprise that this tactic has become quite successful. So these days, the sale itself has become only the beginning. This understanding is crucial in business, because the expense necessary to retain a customer is quite a bit less than the amount which has to be paid out to acquire a new one.
Most management training experts agree that only organisations which see selling as a beginning are actually capable of monopolising their markets, and those which continue along traditional paths – will be inevitably overcome. Beginning with the sale, organisations rain down benefits on their customers. In addition to the obvious advantages which the customers receive, the organisations also receive detailed feedback on the products or services they’re providing. This can be further applied by incorporating this information into future projects. The “after sales service” is much appreciated by customers, as they tend to see this effort as an act of gratitude. Because of this, customers don’t have to do much homework before buying an item, as they know that their grievances will be addressed properly if the product is faulty. Organisations also benefit from not having to spend money on vague advertising activities in order to attract customers, and now, these companies can be far more definitive with their advertising approach.
Technology and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) have crept into this aspect of advertising. With these systems there are various software applications that help with the maintenance of the huge databases which are updated in “real time” with the developments occurring in the purchase patterns of every customer.
Most business coaching experts agree that the crux of the matter is that selling has to be viewed as a “beginning” and never an “end”, and if intelligently applied, this idea will take any company a very long way toward acquiring a larger piece of the market share.
Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of the L2L Group. He specialises in delivering Executive Coaching, Training and Consultancy Services to International Businesses across the World. Want to discover more about these insightful business building success strategies? Get Alan’s essential FREE Business Pack today!
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